Doesn't work like that. You're just like us in a way.
[ he sets the bottle down, lifting his hand up, licking his fingers where some of it has spilled out of the neck of the bottle onto them. ]
Yeah. That's right.
That's what the book was for... the Alphinaud during our scenario. He ended up murdering her with a carnivorous plant. Because the investigation of the ramparts took so long... she was halfway through with being completely digested.
[ they watch this impassively, for a moment, though the shadows on their wings flicker a bit, like the fluttering of feathers. ]
Huh. So... pushed to vengeance, then, by the shadows.
[ they just sound a little thoughtful, as they say that - like they're considering the nature of the kill itself. as kaeya continues, aquila's quieter for a moment, and turns their head, fixing him with their gaze. it's sharp, as sharp as an eagle's might be. ]
And so? Do you plan on doing something with that, then, Alberich? [ not letting that slip through his fingers, anyway. ]
Yes. And... not the sort of thing he'd do. He's not... that isn't who he is. Not by a long shot, Aquila. He's violent when he needs to be, but that's not something he would have done were he in his right mind. Never. Never.
[ a moment feels like eternity, and then kaeya speaks. ]
I'm going to keep my watch.
[ he swallows tightly. ]
Do what I must. Stay vigilant. Because we're far from done.
[ he hated that he had a sinking feeling when he saw one of those washers during dawn watch. it was worse than he could ever imagine. ]
I won't allow this place to take him from me. You'll have to pry him from my own cold, dead, fingers.
[ they're quiet for a moment, assessing. there are times when aquila seems a little more than the playful exterior they've shown; this is one of them, a moment of intensity. ]
...Good.
[ sureness, in that word. ]
That conviction is what I like to hear. [ their fingers drum against the glass, one more time. ] Keep your watch, keep your wits about you, and keep your people close to you. I don't have to tell you any of that, do I?
You don't. They're my people. Hua Cheng, Rin, Dokja... even stupid, surly Joonghyuk. I love them all in certain ways. I'd lie for them in a heartbeat, on the spot, no matter what.
[ he turns to look at them. his single eye is raw, red. an empty, gory hole, a gouge from upper eyebrow down to his cheek. ]
I'll lie for them to live. I've lied my whole life, what's another one?
[ something about that resonates with aquila in a way that's obvious - the weight of the pause between responses feels heavy, and they turn to meet his look properly.
the shadows in their wings flicker again, purple shooting down through the shape of them vertically, sharp relief and bright light for a moment before it vanishes again, and then form more clearly into feathers. ]
Mouth of honey, heart of daggers. [ they murmur into their glass as they pull it up to the veil. ] We're too alike sometimes, Kaeya.
[ ... ]
's not a bad philosophy to have. Just try not to lose who are you are while you're at it, yeah?
I won't... I was practically born to lie. Hope that's in my file too.
Either way, it doesn't matter. I know who I am, and who I love, and I'll carry the weight of the things I've done. I think you're similar. Decisions--
[ a pause. a small sip of his bottle this time. he swallows. ]
Decisiveness. We make choices. We live them the consequences. Doesn't mean we have to lose the heart... I still mourned Ragnvindr. I'll mourn those I've betrayed by my actions...
[ he's going to just lean suddenly against them in the booth, head on their shoulder, but gaze (???) respectfully cast downwards. ]
[ oh, well. the closeness seems to surprise them a bit - they tense up a little, but it doesn't last, as they let their shoulders droop some and allow kaeya to rest there. since kaeya is so close he may note that they smell nice. ]
You're assuming a bit about me, captain.
[ they sound a little amused, softly. ] And so we do. Perhaps the choices we make are the heart, in some ways.
You're right that I'm decisive, though. [ a little hum. ] Ragnvindr. Like Diluc?
I'm a spy and an information broker, Aquila. This is precisely what I'm paid to do. But it's not an assumption, it's just a guess. Besides, you just said we're too alike, you silly bird.
[ he huffs, holding onto the wine bottle, thumb over the top. ]
No, his father. Crepus. When he died...
[ mm ] It's a story for some other time, maybe. Not right now.
Maybe I said we're too alike because we have a similar alcohol tolerance, though I'm starting to believe mine is better.
[ but they reach over and
tweak his nose between their clawed fingers, though its more between their knuckles to save him the trouble of the points. honk. ] Test those observation skills of yours, spy. You are more or less on my payroll.
[ considering the dawn watch. this is said with that glimmering amusement, though.
as kaeya lays off of the story, they hum. ] And fair enough. Maybe you've had enough nostalgia for the day, hm? What're you looking for for the rest of the evening. Rest? A distraction?
[ honk honk he is a clown and he knows it. but he just lets it happen, wrinkling his nose when they stop. he doesn't know what he was looking for. maybe someone who had a good answer for the question burning deep in his heart. he wants to believe diluc is fine, but he doesn't trust this contract bullshit whatsoever.
"above my paygrade" his ass, he's going to show these npcs how to unionize stg (no he doesn't even know what that is)
he just turns, offers them a smile, barely there. ]
[ the nasal noise gets them to huff, a little bit of a laugh. they pull their hand free and pick their drink up, finishing it off and waving down a shadow to fetch them a refill. ]
Hmmm. [ distractions, then. they tap their finger against their glass. ] Maybe it's my turn to tell you a story. I learned of a legend behind my constellation, this week. Have you done any research on us? Our stars, at least.
Constellations are common where I'm from. You're born beneath a specific one in my world—for example... mine is Pavo Ocellus. The peacock. My brother is Noctua... the owl.
[ he will.
finish the bottle right there. it takes a moment. but it's done (has he just done this before? chugged bottles? it's like there's a science or strategy to it.)
[ they don't react too much to the chugging, though they take the bottle from kaeya when it's finished and set it aside. they have a nice voice for storytelling - very smooth. ]
There are many, apparently. The original name is for an eagle that carried the thunderbolts of a great and powerful god. That story sits across many cultures; in another, it's just known as the "heavenly eagle constellation". It guards its god protectively from arrows of Eros that had struck him into love unwittingly, and it has even retrieved a young, beautiful man to bring to the heavens on the request of its god.
[ another tap of claw against glass. ] Aquila is made of many clusters of stars and nebula; the brightest is one called Altair, and that star is associated with a love story.
[ they laugh, then. ] Sort of a lover and a fighter, yeah?
[ kaeya frowns as the bottle is taken from him, but... allows this, folding his arms instead. he listens intently, and as he does, there's something in his eye (hole?) that softens. blooms of tired callalilies. then he blinks, and it's blue again, as starry as before. a lover and a fighter. ]
Sounds just like Venessa then...
[ the lion's fang. the dawnlight. ]
Minus the... bringing beautiful young men to the heavens, but. The rest... yes.
Oh? Are you going to spirit me away? Or maybe someone else?
[ he smiles. fine. whatever!!! ]
She helped free Mondstadt from the aristocracy... not long after the Dawnlight's passing. She became the first Grand Master of the Ordo of Favonius, the group I'm part of... the Eagle of the West, the Lion's Fang. Story goes, she said...
"We must fight and claim our own freedom. We can not beg for it. We must not kneel for it. Freedom given freely is only a guise for another shackle."
[ he looks into his lap quietly. ]
When she passed, her spirit rose to Celestia in the form of an eagle. To protect those who wield Aquila Favonius in her name.
She was... sometimes I think Jean tries to be too much like her. Her shoes are too enormous, she lifted the shackles from an entire city of freedom. Jean is different. She can lead in her own way... I think she's learning this.
That is a legacy, we are meant to carry it, not to simply wear the same tired clothes over and over again. You must beget progress, not more of the same. I think... sometimes Jean doesn't realize that. That she can breathe too, that she's allowed that.
[ this is why he does double the work and no one knows except maybe god. he lifts a hand to pluck a stray feather near his eye, flicks it off into ash and then nothing.
in a flash, he smiles, like nothing has happened, turns. ]
I wonder if sometimes, a moment to breathe gets in the way of the progress and goal you'd like to achieve.
[ they say this idly, listening to kaeya as he muses on this jean person. for a moment, they are looking away, gaze focused across the room - maybe lost in their own thoughts.
...kaeya brings them back when he turns towards them, though, and they laugh. it's a similar reaction. like nothing even happened. ] Quit fishing for compliments.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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[ he sets the bottle down, lifting his hand up, licking his fingers where some of it has spilled out of the neck of the bottle onto them. ]
Yeah. That's right.
That's what the book was for... the Alphinaud during our scenario. He ended up murdering her with a carnivorous plant. Because the investigation of the ramparts took so long... she was halfway through with being completely digested.
She was practically melting when I touched her.
[ his voice tightens ]
I won't let Diluc slip through my fingers, too.
no subject
Huh. So... pushed to vengeance, then, by the shadows.
[ they just sound a little thoughtful, as they say that - like they're considering the nature of the kill itself. as kaeya continues, aquila's quieter for a moment, and turns their head, fixing him with their gaze. it's sharp, as sharp as an eagle's might be. ]
And so? Do you plan on doing something with that, then, Alberich? [ not letting that slip through his fingers, anyway. ]
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[ a moment feels like eternity, and then kaeya speaks. ]
I'm going to keep my watch.
[ he swallows tightly. ]
Do what I must. Stay vigilant. Because we're far from done.
[ he hated that he had a sinking feeling when he saw one of those washers during dawn watch. it was worse than he could ever imagine. ]
I won't allow this place to take him from me. You'll have to pry him from my own cold, dead, fingers.
no subject
...Good.
[ sureness, in that word. ]
That conviction is what I like to hear. [ their fingers drum against the glass, one more time. ] Keep your watch, keep your wits about you, and keep your people close to you. I don't have to tell you any of that, do I?
cw: eye squick
[ he turns to look at them. his single eye is raw, red. an empty, gory hole, a gouge from upper eyebrow down to his cheek. ]
I'll lie for them to live. I've lied my whole life, what's another one?
no subject
the shadows in their wings flicker again, purple shooting down through the shape of them vertically, sharp relief and bright light for a moment before it vanishes again, and then form more clearly into feathers. ]
Mouth of honey, heart of daggers. [ they murmur into their glass as they pull it up to the veil. ] We're too alike sometimes, Kaeya.
[ ... ]
's not a bad philosophy to have. Just try not to lose who are you are while you're at it, yeah?
no subject
Either way, it doesn't matter. I know who I am, and who I love, and I'll carry the weight of the things I've done. I think you're similar. Decisions--
[ a pause. a small sip of his bottle this time. he swallows. ]
Decisiveness. We make choices. We live them the consequences. Doesn't mean we have to lose the heart... I still mourned Ragnvindr. I'll mourn those I've betrayed by my actions...
[ he's going to just lean suddenly against them in the booth, head on their shoulder, but gaze (???) respectfully cast downwards. ]
no subject
You're assuming a bit about me, captain.
[ they sound a little amused, softly. ] And so we do. Perhaps the choices we make are the heart, in some ways.
You're right that I'm decisive, though. [ a little hum. ] Ragnvindr. Like Diluc?
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[ he huffs, holding onto the wine bottle, thumb over the top. ]
No, his father. Crepus. When he died...
[ mm ] It's a story for some other time, maybe. Not right now.
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Maybe I said we're too alike because we have a similar alcohol tolerance, though I'm starting to believe mine is better.
[ but they reach over and
tweak his nose between their clawed fingers, though its more between their knuckles to save him the trouble of the points. honk. ] Test those observation skills of yours, spy. You are more or less on my payroll.
[ considering the dawn watch. this is said with that glimmering amusement, though.
as kaeya lays off of the story, they hum. ] And fair enough. Maybe you've had enough nostalgia for the day, hm? What're you looking for for the rest of the evening. Rest? A distraction?
no subject
I've had a head start.
[ honk honk he is a clown and he knows it. but he just lets it happen, wrinkling his nose when they stop. he doesn't know what he was looking for. maybe someone who had a good answer for the question burning deep in his heart. he wants to believe diluc is fine, but he doesn't trust this contract bullshit whatsoever.
"above my paygrade" his ass, he's going to show these npcs how to unionize stg (no he doesn't even know what that is)
he just turns, offers them a smile, barely there. ]
I'll never say no to distractions.
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Hmmm. [ distractions, then. they tap their finger against their glass. ] Maybe it's my turn to tell you a story. I learned of a legend behind my constellation, this week. Have you done any research on us? Our stars, at least.
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[ he will.
finish the bottle right there. it takes a moment. but it's done (has he just done this before? chugged bottles? it's like there's a science or strategy to it.)
he puts it down. ]
Tell me the story of this one... Aquila.
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There are many, apparently. The original name is for an eagle that carried the thunderbolts of a great and powerful god. That story sits across many cultures; in another, it's just known as the "heavenly eagle constellation". It guards its god protectively from arrows of Eros that had struck him into love unwittingly, and it has even retrieved a young, beautiful man to bring to the heavens on the request of its god.
[ another tap of claw against glass. ] Aquila is made of many clusters of stars and nebula; the brightest is one called Altair, and that star is associated with a love story.
[ they laugh, then. ] Sort of a lover and a fighter, yeah?
no subject
Sounds just like Venessa then...
[ the lion's fang. the dawnlight. ]
Minus the... bringing beautiful young men to the heavens, but. The rest... yes.
no subject
they laugh, though, glancing down at him. ] Well, who knows if that part suits me or not. Venessa?
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[ he smiles. fine. whatever!!! ]
She helped free Mondstadt from the aristocracy... not long after the Dawnlight's passing. She became the first Grand Master of the Ordo of Favonius, the group I'm part of... the Eagle of the West, the Lion's Fang. Story goes, she said...
"We must fight and claim our own freedom. We can not beg for it. We must not kneel for it. Freedom given freely is only a guise for another shackle."
[ he looks into his lap quietly. ]
When she passed, her spirit rose to Celestia in the form of an eagle. To protect those who wield Aquila Favonius in her name.
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[ absently. but, they listen to that for a moment. the dawnlight. eagle of the west.
... ]
I see. Sounds like an inspiring leader.
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That is a legacy, we are meant to carry it, not to simply wear the same tired clothes over and over again. You must beget progress, not more of the same. I think... sometimes Jean doesn't realize that. That she can breathe too, that she's allowed that.
[ this is why he does double the work and no one knows except maybe god. he lifts a hand to pluck a stray feather near his eye, flicks it off into ash and then nothing.
in a flash, he smiles, like nothing has happened, turns. ]
You really think I'm pretty.
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[ they say this idly, listening to kaeya as he muses on this jean person. for a moment, they are looking away, gaze focused across the room - maybe lost in their own thoughts.
...kaeya brings them back when he turns towards them, though, and they laugh. it's a similar reaction. like nothing even happened. ] Quit fishing for compliments.
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[ but at the last remark: ]
No. Whosoever gave me my good looks deserves to have them flaunted and praised.
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and then laugh. ] How bratty. [ teasing, though. they boop him on the nose with a claw. ] Or how spoiled? Maybe both.
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But who spoils you, Aquila?
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Oh, the Nightman. You know.
[ this is a joke ]
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You allowed to talk about your boss like that?
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